Today is the beginning of Johns seventh miracle week since his stroke. Why do I believe in miracles? The Bible is the greatest book of miracles ever written. Its no ordinary book. The Bible is a book that can literally heal you as you read it. It actually does something to your physical body as you read it, believe it, and act on it. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:1,14). Last week was filled with days of miracles for John. He is getting stronger every day. His ability to swallow has increased to the point that they had him actually try to swallow a honey substance to see how he could handle it. Honey is mixed with water because it is slow moving and gives his brain time to make the transition to swallow. It important for his mouth muscles to move any substance to the correct air way because if it goes to the lung he can develop an infection. Up to this point the objective was to get him to swallow within 20 seconds of being stimulated with a lemon swab or cold metal object put in the back of his throat. These techniques trigger the brain to react appropriately. On Friday he began to swallow within 5 seconds on every try and Johns therapist was so impressed she wanted to have him try something other than his saliva. John was thrilled to get to taste something... if only a little honey. He was successful in swallowing on both tries!! He now qualifies for the barium testing to make sure when he swallows its actually going to the stomach and not the lungs. Stroke survivors sometimes cant feel if it is going down the wrong air way. The therapist can tell if he coughs or if his voicing is gurgled. John did not cough but could not voice on command to confirm where it went. Speaking of voicing...John said his first word s last week!! I was teasing him about something and we were laughing and out of his mouth came....”No” One of his techs was with us at the time. She told him when she comes back in two day he better say her name and sure enough when she walked in the room he said “Bea”. We were all overjoyed!! Of course, I didn’t want to stop with those two words so I began drilling him to say others. He has said “I” and “my” as well. I am learning to be his cheerleader instead of his coach. He will respond so well with the therapist but when I ask him to try something he fights me on it. All these improvements take extreme energy to do and sometimes I forget that. I can get so excited I just want him to practice everything all day long. One thing I am learning is to have patience in Johns journey to wholeness. John has been introduced this past week to new technology that will give him more independence. First is a computer with a key pad on the screen. He has a electronic dot on his forehead and when he moves it and hold it on the appropriate key he can spell a word. This is very difficult for him right now but over time I know it will be easier. They call him Mario Andrei!!! He know has an electric wheelchair that he controls with his head. The first day he left many skid marks on the walls from a few crashes but by the second day he was whipping around all the corners. I will have a video of this next time. His shoulders and upper chest now have some muscle activation and control. He is now able to hold his upper body up when sitting in the wheelchair. I noticed this when I went to put the sling behind his back when getting him back to bed. I, along with the tech usually have to pull his body forward to get it behind him. This is very difficult. Its like pulling 150lb forward and you really need two people to do this. The day he had his stroke he was sitting on the riding mower and I was having to hold his body up while waiting 15 minutes for the ambulance to get there. Within a few minutes of having the stroke he lost all muscle control and it was pure adrenaline on my part that enabled me to hold him up for that long. Back to the sling. John was sitting about an inch away from the back of the wheelchair and I ask him if he was holding himself up and he just began to cry. Every time Johns body begins to line back up with the Word of God the Lord is glorified!! In Malachi it says, “ I am the Lord, I change not”. So if the Lord healed then he will heal today!! In James it says, “ Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up”. Johns journey to wholeness is a testimony to Gods greatness, love, goodness, and miracles power!! Enjoy the videos!! welovejohnlarson Thank you also for giving during our time of need. Blessings, Julie
Posted on: Mon, 27 Oct 2014 12:31:03 +0000
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